Fortunately, the Armed Forces Bank and Mid-Missouri Credit Union have got you covered from one side of the main cantonment to another.

The Armed Forces Bank has ATMs at: the USO on Iowa Avenue, the PX food court and PX customer service center, Swift Gym on 16th Street, Shea Gym on 6th Street, north and south Shoppettes, the mini-mall on Artillery Circle, and their branch on Nebraska Avenue near the Commissary.

The Mid-Missouri Credit Union has ATMS at: Building 470 main lobby, the bowling center on South Dakota Avenue, the Commissary, the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital main lobby, Burger King, the Maneuver Support Center near the food court and bookstore, the PX near the barber shop, Cunningham Gym on 11th Street, and their branch office on Illinois Avenue next to the old PX.

“I use (the Maneuver Support Center ATM) and the one in the PX,” said Airman 1st Class Cully Hopkins, 366th Training Squadron, Detachment 7, when asked which ATMs she typically uses.

If you belong to the Armed Forces Bank or Mid-Missouri Credit Union, you can go to their ATM and pull out cash without incurring a fee. However, if you do not bank with either institution, expect to pay a fee every time you pull out cash. Also, card-holders should know if their financial institution charges a fee for using a ATM outside its institution’s network, making two fees for every transaction.

Both the Mid-Missouri Credit Union and Armed Forces Bank ATMs charge you a $1 user-fee if you withdraw cash while not a member of their institution.

One ATM user shared how her bank membership affected her ATM use.

“I use the Armed Forces Bank drive-through (ATM),” said Vicki Reed, DPTM operations support technician. “I’m a member there.”

If you do not bank with either institution, and do not belong to a financial institution that pays ATM fees back at the end of the month, your best bet is to get extra cash during a purchase with your debit card.

You can ask for cash back with your purchase at the PX, Commissary, and Shoppettes. You are limited to $50 with your cash back, but that should provide you with enough cash to get around for the day. If you run out, just stop by again for a pack of gum — and $50 cash back.

Many people have caught on to the “cash back” concept to avoid ATM fees, and the statistics are reflecting the shift in American ATM behavior.

There were $10.1 billion ATM transactions in 2006, the lowest number in ten years, according to the American Banking Association. Also, monthly transactions per ATM have dropped from 6,399 average monthly transactions in 1996 to 2,131 in 2006.

Hopkins said that she used an ATM twice a week on average, a number echoed by other respondents queried in the research of this article.

When asked if her life would change if there were no ATMs on post, respondents did not seem overly concerned.